MLK and Vietnam

• When did King speak out against Vietnam?

  1965
• Why did King's stance on Vietnam separate him from the CRM?

  The SCLC didn't want to be associated with the anti-war peace movement
• What did MLK do in 1967?

  He came out publicly against US involvement
• Where did King preach?

  At Riverside Church
• What did King's speeches show?

  Sympathy for Vietnamese Communists and other left-wing revolutionary movements
• What did King compare US military tactics to?

  The Nazis in WW2
• What did King say was being destroyed in Vietnam?

  The two important institutions of family and village with land and crops destroyed and women and children killed
• Where was King the main speaker at?

  The April 1967 Spring Mobilisation to End the War in Vietnam
• Who organised the event in April 1967?

  It was reluctantly organised by the SCLC
• What happened at the Spring Mobilisation to End the War in Vietnam?

  125,000 protestors marched in NY City to the UN building
• Who else was involved in the Spring Mobilisation to End the War in Vietnam?

  CORE and Carmichael of the SNCC, a deliberate attempt for King to align himself with the younger and more radical elements of the CRM
• What did King's position do?

  It alienated Johnson and his administration, losing King's influence
• What percentage of black Americans believed that King's opposition to the war hurt the CRM?

  60%
• What percentage of black Americans disapproved of how his decisions led to his alienation from President Johnson?

  48%
• How much did Vietnam cost?

  $120 billion from 1965 to 1973
• How many US troops were deployed to Vietnam by 1967?

  500,000
• What could Johnson not do as a result of the war?

  Fund the promised slum rebuilding and improvements for his model cities Act
• How were black Americans affected by war?

  They were over-represented in conscription figures, often given worse 2nd hand equipment and over-represented in fatalities